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Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges

The runaway bride story still has legs in the 24/7 cable news cycle. The groom still wants to marry her. Gwinnett County DA Danny Porter, who as we reported yesterday, did not think charges should be brought against sheriff deputies who tasered a handcuffed and foot-bound man five times in 60 seconds, after which he died, is considering whether to charge the runaway bride with a crime.

What crime fits? Porter says either false reporting of a crime (the kidnapping) or making false statements to Georgia police. The reasoning seems to be that the bride should be accountable for the expenses incurred by police in searching for her and the anguish she caused people in the community.

Neither of those are elements of the crimes under consideration. Nor are they valid reasons to charge either crime.

Most of the money was expended before the bride telephoned the police in Georgia and conveyed her kidnapping story. I suspect if authorities asked her parents to repay them, they would readily agree, and could do so using either the $100,000. reward money or the money they were going to spend on the wedding, (which probably far exeeded that). In addition, consider that it was only one hour that the police were misinformed:

A spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Albuquerque said ....she had told them the truth within about an hour.

So no one went looking for kidnappers. More important, however, is that she didn't call the police in Georgia to report a crime. She called her family from the Albuquerque police department to tell them she was okay. The police chief just happened to be there and they put him on the phone. He asked if she was okay. That she lied about how she got to be okay is not falsely reporting a crime.

Ditch that one, now we're on to making a false statement to police. By all accounts, she did that. But, is it a crime? Only if she did it both knowingly and willfully. Willfully essentially means intentionally.

Her state of mind is key here. The Albuquerque authorities and FBI report she was pretty discombobulated by the time she called 911 and arrived at the police station. That was when she called home to say she was okay and they put the Chief on the phone. Given that she didn't call the police and didn't know in advance she'd be speaking with one of them, I think it's a stretch to say her false statement to was willful or intentional.

Here's the The Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20):

A person who knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact; makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or makes or uses any false writing or document, knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of state government or of the government of any county, city, or other political subdivision of this state shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years, or both. [emphasis supplied]

The bride had the right to travel and to leave without telling anyone. Even the DA acknowledges that. The question isn't jail, no one, even the DA, wants to see her in jail. So even if they could put together a case of her making a false statement (which she rectified within an hour), why bother? Why use the already overburdened resources of the Georgia criminal justice system to place her on probation or under supervision and in treatment? Let the private matter end with a private settlement. Let the family reimburse the city and county and let's all be done with it.

Why won't it happen that way? Because television viewers got duped. The real anger is not that people were worried about the bride. Those people are all thrilled she's home. The angry people are those who watched on tv all weekend and felt cheated when it turned out there was neither a gruesome crime nor a botched crime with a happy ending.

Sorry, but the public being duped by the media who made a 24/7 story out of the case is no reason to charge someone with a crime.

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    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:39 PM EST
    Sorry, but the public being duped by the media who made a 24/7 story out of the case is no reason to charge someone with a crime. Wait a second, it's not a crime to lie in a way that will eventually disappoint television viewers? This is America, dammit! We have the right to have the sagas that play out in the news end with the bad guy being someone that fits the right profile! Actually, if they do manage to charge this woman, it might be the first type of crime that it's more like for a white person to be arrested for. If the girl was a minority, the news would've never covered it.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#2)
    by DawesFred60 on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:39 PM EST
    without a doubt she needs to see a good head doctor, and do you know what the cops were going to do with this case if she didn't call "Home"? the cops were going to charge her boyfriend with murder, think about that.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:39 PM EST
    I literally had nightmares last night thinking about this. What a show of the barbaric hypocrisy we now live in. Rescue teams as victims. Those folks better think twice before they sashay into Church Sunday morning.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#4)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:39 PM EST
    The guy still wants to marry her? I wonder what part of "no" he doesn't understand. If it wasn't so sad, you'd have to laugh.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#5)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:40 PM EST
    I hear you PPJ, the guy needs a buddy to step up and start slapping him. Love is bonkers.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:40 PM EST
    PPJ and kdog....right on. Plus, I hope the counseling she receives is not from their pastor, who seems like he's ready to marry them today. She sounds like she's severely depressed and needs some in depth work and medicinal support.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#7)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:40 PM EST
    Yesterday on CNN Bill Hemmer actually said the coverage last week was "fun". I'm glad SOMEONE was entertained.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#8)
    by Mreddieb on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:40 PM EST
    Is there any good reason Talk left posted this silly non story? I really like this blog and enjoy the give and take and intelligence of the commenters. But I'm sorry, this story belongs on faux where it belongs.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#9)
    by Lora on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:40 PM EST
    I don't know that she shouldn't be charged...BUT she should be treated the same as anybody else who makes false statements to the police and falsely reports a crime. It is not her fault that the media chose to make a three-ring circus of the event, rather than spending more time, say, telling us about Iraq, or what "our" government has been up to lately, or about a cop who kills a helpless bound man and gets away with it, or anything trivial like that. I hope she writes a book and makes a bundle.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:40 PM EST
    Ed, once the DA said he's considering charging her, the story becomes a topic for TalkLeft. It's the politics of crime. Just like Michael Jackson, Scott Peterson and all the other cases I write about. Just scroll by the topics you aren't interested in.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:40 PM EST
    This is a fine example of why, in pre-hysterical times, adult missing persons cases were kept on the back burner by police. People just do go off on their own sometimes. There is a trade-off between having the legal right to do what you want without having to tell anyone first, and risking a cold trail for the police to follow should anything untoward befall you.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#12)
    by txpublicdefender on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:40 PM EST
    I am a little torn on this case, but I'm coming down on the side that she shouldn't be charged--especially if she really did recant in about an hour. Of all the costs spent looking for her and/or possible suspects involved in her disappearance, only a tiny fraction was spent as a result of her false statements--the time spent by investigators questioning her until she recanted. All the other time, money, and energy was expended because she left town--and that was not a crime. Her family chose to look for her, and the police chose to treat it as a criminal investigation. Even the fact that she bought the ticket in advance and cut her hair to hide her appearance is meaningless. All that does is show that she had planned to leave and didn't want to be found. None of that is a crime. If the story hadn't been so overcovered by the national press, they wouldn't even be considering filing charges against her.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#13)
    by Wile ECoyote on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:40 PM EST
    I just wonder what she is going to do when faced with being up all night with a colicky kid.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#14)
    by Mreddieb on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:40 PM EST
    Talk Left Thanks I respect and accept your point and after all it is your Blog! But I'm sorry I just can't control myself. I just can't do it. Pass them by that is! :) I like to have a little humor with my crow.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:40 PM EST
    txpublicdefender.... Although she technically didn't committ a crime.... she did cost a lot of taxpayers a lot of money. Plus, while the cops were out looking for her, what else could they (should they) have been doing? She should be liable for at least some of the costs....yes? Besides, false reports like this (claiming to be kidnapped) should be a crime. Kinda like shouting fire in a theater!

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#16)
    by pigwiggle on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:41 PM EST
    Did she know about all the effort while on the run? A simple call to the police; ‘I’m fine, stop looking’.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:41 PM EST
    BB, I'm not buying it even one iota. These fine "upstanding" folks are pissed off that she was found alive? So now search and rescue volunteers are "victims"????
    Plus, while the cops were out looking for her, what else could they (should they) have been doing?
    You mean instead of doing their job of trying to find a missing person? Give the girl a freakin break, already. You would think this was some kind of national crime - the am radio show was trashing her - even the people on the bus this morning were trashing her. Meanwhile, this fruithead D.A. doesn't think Tasering a guy already restrained six times in a minute, KILLING him, is a crime????? I'm becoming less angry at Bush for ruining the country than I am at some citizens who's hypocrisy, inability to think critically and frankly, cruelty are selling the ideals of this nation down the river.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#18)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:41 PM EST
    mfox...(ex biker chic) You mean instead of doing their job of trying to find a missing person? No...I mean wasting time looking for a missing person that wasn't really missing! I don't think anyone is pissed because she is alive...they're pissed (& rightfully so) that she had a bunch of people on a wild goose chase. Media hype aside ..... she did cause a lot of people a lot of grief when all she had to do was just say no!

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:41 PM EST
    These fine "upstanding" folks are pissed off that she was found alive? So now search and rescue volunteers are "victims"????
    Missed something somewhere - which search and rescue folks consider themselves victims? Fiance gave her back the ring, his parents say take it slow but we're behind you. DA is making some noise; but nowhere do I see anything that says the family/friends who searched for her are not happy she is alive. Leave her alone - she broke no law (except common decency and good sense) that I can see; and the work she will have to do to re-build relationships in her home town will be enough community service.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#20)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:41 PM EST
    BB, If she had planted torn clothes, some blood and signs of a struggle in order to "frame" a kidnapping, then you'd have a point. But its not her fault that the police (and media) over-reacted. I wonder if the Sheriff played this up in order to distract people from the goings on in his jail?

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#21)
    by Jlvngstn on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    87% of the people on CNN's web poll think she should re-imburse the agencies for their costs. I am with TXpublicdefender, the bulk of the costs were incurred prior to her making up the story and if she is obligated to anything it should be those costs only. Semi-attractive white woman with big wedding planned goes missing and people freak out. Kinda like she did.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#22)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    If they throw her in jail, I wonder how many times in a minute they will tazer her. People are allowed to just walk away and can sue if they are found! This is all a media circus and the DA is simply looking to make a name for himself if he pursues charges.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#23)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    87% of the people in that CNN poll are probably just pissed because the woman had the nerve not to be murdered for their continued viewing pleasure. Smells like sour grapes.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#24)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    The woman in Wisconsin who fake her abduction was required to pay back some of the costs of the investigation.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#25)
    by pigwiggle on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    Keep in mind she left town during her nightly jog the night before an event at which she was a starring attraction. Would your prototypical ‘reasonable’ person be aware that those actions would lead to a large search? Additionally, would this ‘reasonable’ person be aware of the costs associated with the large search? I think the town has a good shot at showing she should have known or did know the consequences of her actions and acted indifferently; I mean really, a simple call to the police, no location, just ‘I’m ok, call off the search’. It kind of looks like she knew what was transpiring, and instead of making that simple call cut off her hair and tried to wait it out. Whatever, this guy may have dodged a bullet with this loon. Now if he marries her he goes into it knowing she is nuts. I live in Utah; this reminds me of the kind of money that is spent saving jacka**es that insist on skiing or riding snow machines in defiance of avalanche conditions or rescuing rock climbers that get in over their heads. These folks need to be financially responsible for their bad choices.

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#26)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:42 PM EST
    B.B., LoL, twenty years ago, when I was sittin cute and cool on the back of a '56 Panhead (God I loved it), it wasn't "chic" to be a biker chick. Since then I have become a lot of even more interesting ex-es. : 0 I just don't agree that "she" had people on a wild goose chase. Now Charles Stuart (from Boston, shot pregnant girlfriend - said black guy did it - later killed self) led people on a wild goose chase. Having taken a lot of women's studies courses, for what it's worth I am seeing this from a perspective of why she is being so vilified. Any of you who've been married MUST understand how totally f*ed up and stressful the period immediately preceding the wedding is. How hard (at least for a lot of brides) it is to distinguish between "cold feet" and genuine intuitive reservations. And you don't always have relationships where you call your mom or your maid of honor and say I'm freaking out - it might not happen. So she melted down! What's the big deal? Who even says it might not have been a one-time freaky life event - not indicative of being a "bad" woman - or even that she doesn't love this guy. Deciding you had to split under the apparently intense pressure she was feeling. Apparently she got on a bus and at some point way down the road realized that she was being looked for at which point the pressure comes back times 10. So she freaks and makes up a story. She couldn't even keep it together for an hour. Immature? Yeah. Was she thinking of others while she was freaking out? Do any of us? Did she intentionally draw attention to herself by presenting evidence that would logically lead to a large search? Don't know yet. Maybe a tiny bit. The bigger story to me, is why this is a story. Why everyone is so quick to assume and judge. It somehow looks really mean, like throwing stones and feeling justified about it. Nowadays we are much more responsive to missing persons reports. Doesn't it stand to reason that if we move the line towards always acting ASAP that we will statistically err on the side of false alarms? Remember, that's compared to the old way of erring on the side of inaction and it's unacceptable consequences?

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#27)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:43 PM EST
    mfox.... I think Pigwiggle says it all pretty well in the post above yours. As usual, the media has made a bigger circus of this than it already was. However, she did have many people looking for her...she wasn't really missing ...so that's a wild goose chase as far as I'm concerned. Disappearing the way she did, even as immature as she seems to be, she still should have known this would cause a rucus and all she had to do was call somebody & say she was alright. Yes, we will (& should) err on the side of false alarms, but a false alarm and an intentional misleading are two different things! Keep riding....! You're never too old...haha

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#28)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:43 PM EST
    This is all Blaghdaddy has to say on the whole subject...

    Re: Runaway Bride: DA Considers Charges (none / 0) (#29)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:43 PM EST
    TheMadBrewer gets the cigar here, I think. The real business of a lot of people in the public sector has become obfuscation, it seems to me.